Knots / Ropework book?

Woodlouse said:
You need a lot of patience for learning knots through Ashley's. True it is the definitive work on the topic but if you want to know how to tie the majority of the most common and necessary knots then there are much better books out there that are infinitely clearer in their instructions and diagrams.
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Well, I learnt from Ashley! And for practical (as opposed to decorative) knots, he usually gives both a written description of tying the knot and also a step by step diagram. In fact, in the Introduction, he discusses the ways in which people learn knots, and certainly tries to cover as many ways as possible; in understanding that people have different modes of learning, he was in advance of his time. Of course, the work is hampered by the lack of colour or even shading in the illustrations, but the other side of that coin is that Ashley was a professional artist, and was skilled at working within the constraints of the line-art he used. And to some extent the style of the drawings was a deliberate choice, which he defends in the Introduction - he aimed to remove unnecessary detail, and only portray the essentials.

I've used some more modern books, and Ashley is more reliable in his depiction of knots, in general. I have at least one description of the braid-on-braid eye-splice (not covered by Ashley) that is unusable because the diagrams are awful and the description is not comprehensive; you can only use it if you know how to do it! And although photographs can be helpful, they often aren't because details of the rope construction etc. obscure the details of the knot or splice's construction.

If I had my wishes, I'd ask for Ashley with the diagrams improved by the use of colour and shading.
 
AntarcticPilot said:
Well, I learnt from Ashley! And for practical (as opposed to decorative) knots, he usually gives both a written description of tying the knot and also a step by step diagram. In fact, in the Introduction, he discusses the ways in which people learn knots, and certainly tries to cover as many ways as possible; in understanding that people have different modes of learning, he was in advance of his time. Of course, the work is hampered by the lack of colour or even shading in the illustrations, but the other side of that coin is that Ashley was a professional artist, and was skilled at working within the constraints of the line-art he used. And to some extent the style of the drawings was a deliberate choice, which he defends in the Introduction - he aimed to remove unnecessary detail, and only portray the essentials.

I've used some more modern books, and Ashley is more reliable in his depiction of knots, in general. I have at least one description of the braid-on-braid eye-splice (not covered by Ashley) that is unusable because the diagrams are awful and the description is not comprehensive; you can only use it if you know how to do it! And although photographs can be helpful, they often aren't because details of the rope construction etc. obscure the details of the knot or splice's construction.

If I had my wishes, I'd ask for Ashley with the diagrams improved by the use of colour and shading.
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Believe me, I too have learnt from that book but it doesn't mean it's the best out there for someone who doesn't want to know everything. I started out in this thread recommending the Spencer book of knots, splices and fancy work because of all the books I've seen it offers the clearest instructions and the best diagrams I've seen on the topic and that includes more than just a passing familiarity of the Ashley book of knots.
 
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